A Test series in England is no task for small men
LONDON: While he may be away from official Daddy duty for the next month, South African Test skipper Faf du Plessis arrived in London to find that he may still be changing proverbial nappies on this side of the pond.
Dean Elgar took off the armband and gleefully handed it over to Du Plessis at the post-match presser, and he had the look of a man who had baby-sat a screaming child for a bit longer than anticipated.
“He can have it back!,” Elgar said of the responsibility of leading the side through what appears to be increasingly deep and dark waters.
The latest capitulation made history – for all the wrong reasons.
It was a first loss at Lord’s since re-admission, ending a run of five trips of joy in the capital.
This is new territory for a South African cricketer, walking away from Lord’s as a loser. All who have come before them have sauntered off down Abbey Road with a spring in their steps, launching into the rest of the series with confidence bolstered.
Lord’s has seen England
South Africa gave him enough chances to show off his prodigious talent. Twice he was missed on the first morning, then he was dismissed off a no-ball. And when you give someone as good as Root that many chance he’ll make you pay. His shot-making was crisp and in combination with Ben Stokes took the game to South Africa, especially in that final session of the first day, when South Africa was really flat.
Hard to look passed Moeen Ali yesterday. The pitch was helpful throughout the match, but he made it count, especially in South Africa’s first innings, getting Hashim
captains wilt into oblivion, bruised by the battering ram from the land of biltong.
Now, England are the ones in good cheer, sensing a fragility in the opposition that has not often been seen in these parts.
Already, there are questions of a possible clean sweep, though the England captain warned that one shouldn’t look too far ahead.
The pitch at Lord’s certainly assisted a balanced England attack ably led by Moeen Ali, whose off-spin saw him garner a 10-wicket haul, the Man
PLAYS OF THE DAY
Amla early. He found bounce and turn and as the pitch gradually deteriorated, he made it tougher and tougher for the South Africans. He finished with match figures of 35-11-112-10. Along with his 87 runs in the first innings he was obvious Man of the Match
Has to be Moeen. One of three all-rounders in England’s starting XI. It’s somewhat reminiscent of South Africa in the late 1990s when they had the likes of Kallis, Pollock and Klusener in the team. It gives them a lot of versatility. Moeen was the outstanding one of England’s trio of all-rounders.
of the Match award, and a cap wave to a most appreciative crowd at the end of it all.
If the Proteas had banked on Messrs Anderson and Broad giving them the biggest headaches of the summer, they ought to factor in Ali and his simple recipe – especially in a summer that has sizzled playing surfaces to the point where they start ripping far earlier than usual.
South Africa will look back on the past four days, and think how it could have been very different, if they had done the basics that the game demands
None of the Proteas can look at themselves with any kind of satisfaction. They were flat in the field in the final session of the first day. It was an error-strewn performance, and was hard to reconcile this display with a team that’s won seven of its last 11 Tests and three series in a row, including two away from home.
The second Test at Trent Bridge starts in four days time and South Africa need to put what happened at Lord’s out of their minds. Faf du Plessis is back and his leadership will be vital in the next few days. They also need to
as a matter of course.
“Those are non-negotiables,” Elgar said of his team’s shortcomings.
No-balls and dropped catches are costly on any day of the week, but giving both gifts to an England captain on his first day of office is as generous as it gets.
“It’s a great start, and the way the team responded was brilliant,” Joe Root croaked, his bout of flu still not quite shaken off.
At some point, every single English player produced a passage of play that lifted have some efficient and disciplined fielding drills and the bowlers need to work on eliminating the no-balls. There are selection issues too ... Kagiso Rabada has to be replaced, while JP Duminy’s confidence looks shot. It’s hard to argue in his favour at the moment.
“As a batting unit, we need to be harder, harsher with ourselves.” Stand-in captain Dean Elgar says the South African batsmen will be asking themselves difficult questions in the coming days. There have been too many collapses recently and not enough players are turning starts into big scores. – STUART HESS
the collective, tilted the matter towards the home dressing-room.
Regrettably, the South Africans have their own list, but the lights are a bit dimmer upon that reflection.
There were too many moments that took the tourists the other way, making a tough task unbearable, and allowing England and their jolly following to make merry.
Du Plessis’ first task will be to make sure that he wipes away any lingering feelings from this defeat, and try to change the team’s outlook.